When the U.S. women’s basketball roster was unveiled for the Olympics this summer in Paris, France, there was much discussion and hot takes generated around the exclusion of Cailtin Clark.
But there was another player a lot of folks thought was snubbed too: Arike Ogunbowale.
The Dallas Wings guard — who is third in the WNBA in scoring this season with 22.3 points per game — later revealed that she removed herself from Olympic selection due to “politics.” Nonetheless, many fans felt Ogunbowale had been playing well enough to earn a spot on that team.
And she proved just as much on Saturday night in the WNBA All-Star Game, dropping 21 points on Team USA in just the third quarter.
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE ON FIRE 🔥
21 PTS & 5 3PM in the 3Q… everything going down!@ATT #WNBAAllStar Game on ABCpic.twitter.com/XezpSMQltJ
— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2024
ARIKE ON A HEATER IN PHOENIX 🔥#WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/bwK7u7eK5l
— ESPN (@espn) July 21, 2024
ARIKE OGUNBOWALE 🔥🔥🔥
Quick little celebration and a push from Caitlin Clark so she stays on the court 😂 pic.twitter.com/0cqX1JV6ya
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) July 21, 2024
Her fifth 3-pointer of the quarter gave the non-Olympians a seven-point lead.
This is Ogunbowale’s fourth all-star appearance, and she was the MVP of the 2021 game — a contest that also came against Team USA before it went off to Tokyo.
Maybe Ogunbowale will be on the other side when the 2028 Summer Games roll around.
